Alliances, trade, China top Bush's speech
BANGKOK, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush, in his last official visit to Thailand, spoke of trade and strengthening alliances and concerns about human rights in China.
"I have spoken clearly, candidly and consistently with China's leaders about our deep concerns over religious freedom and human rights," Bush said in remarks prepared for delivery in Bangkok. "The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings."
The United States "stands in firm opposition" to China's detention of political and religious activists, he said, adding that ultimately "only China can decide what course it will follow."
Bush also spoke of U.S.-Thai relations that date back 175 years, saying, "The values of freedom and openness that gave birth to our alliance have sustained it through the centuries."
He commented on the war on terror, work being done to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, trade and a global economy and U.S. alliances with Asian countries through treaties and other diplomatic measures.
"I have great confidence that Asia will continue to grow in opportunity, achievement, and influence," Bush said. "I am confident because the forces of freedom and hope that unleashed the transformation of Asia can never be turned back. And I am confident because I know the bonds between America and our friends in Asia will never be broken."
Poll: Obama retains edge over McCain
PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Democratic U.S. presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama has a 4-percentage point lead over likely Republican rival Sen. John McCain, a Gallup Poll indicates.
Obama, D-Ill., held a 47 percent-to-43 percent edge over McCain, R-Ariz., in voter preference, Gallup Poll Daily tracking results released Tuesday indicate. Results showed Obama enjoyed a bump just after his trip to the Middle East and Europe, then slipped into a tie with McCain before returning to what had been the norm most of the summer of maintaining a narrow lead.
Pollsters at the Princeton, N.J., polling firm said more movement could be expected in the coming weeks as both major party presidential candidates announce their running mates and the nominating conventions begin.
The nationwide Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey includes interviews of at least 1,000 adults each day during 2008.
Results are based on data from from 2,674 adults polled Saturday through Tuesday. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Role of big donors rising for Obama
WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Probable Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama is relying on traditional big-money donors as well as small gifts from Internet users, records show.
Although Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, emphasizes the role of mostly younger donors giving $200 or less via the Internet, the percentage of big-money "bundled" contributions is increasing as his campaign nears this month's Democratic National Convention in Denver, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The latest records show that one-third of Obama's record-breaking $340 million in campaign contributions has come from donations of $1,000 or more, a total of $112 million, which is more than likely Republican Party presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Obama is relying on tried-and-true Democratic fundraisers for the money, including many of the top givers to the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
The "bundlers" are generally organized along four major industry lines, the newspaper said, concentrated in the legal, securities and investments, real estate and entertainment fields. Traditional big Democratic Party donors in those industries have been courted by Obama since he first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, the Times said.
White House: Iran's response unacceptable
WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The Bush administration said Iran's response to a proposal seeking to suspend its nuclear program was unacceptable, adding further sanctions may be sought.
U.S. and European officials said they would seek additional sanctions from the U.N. Security Council, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- China, France, Russia, the United States and Britain -- and Germany were to have a conference call on the matter, Alalam satellite TV reported.
The two-paragraph letter Iran delivered Tuesday to Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said Tehran was "ready to provide a 'clear response'" to the incentives-rich proposa, but Iranian leaders were "simultaneously expecting to receive your 'clear response' to our questions and ambiguities as well," said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Times.
"As predicted, (the letter) basically says, 'Yes, we will give you an answer but when you give us an answer,' " a European diplomat told the Times.
In the letter, Iran said "a speedy and transparent negotiating process with a bright prospect" was possible but did not commit to a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment the United States and Europe said they would accept to continue negotiations.
Tibet 'calm' masks tension, exiles say
DHARAMSALA, India, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Despite outward calm, political and ethnic tensions are still running high in Tibet as China hosts the Summer Olympic Games, Tibetan exile groups say.
Efforts by the Chinese government to portray Tibet as sanguine and supportive of the Games are masking a situation in which fear is gripping Lhasa and the exile groups in India say hundreds of Tibetans are being held as political prisoners in the wake of March riots, USA Today reported Wednesday.
"Life in Lhasa is now normal, and we even managed to hold the Olympic torch relay," Baima Chilin, vice chairman of China's Tibet government, told reporters recently.
However, exile groups say thousands more Tibetans are being forced to undergo "patriotic education" and to denounce the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.
Tashi Choephel, a researcher at the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Dharamsala, India, told USA Today that restrictions on movement and speech have tightened in recent weeks.
"Repression is getting worse, everything is locked up because of the Olympic Games," he said.
